Are you in a state of Onement-ness?
The evening of 8th October this autumn marks the beginning of the Day of Atonement in the Hebrew
calendar. It is considered to be the
most holy of all the holy days, the day historical Israel was given the
opportunity of having all their sins taken away so that they could be in unity
with God again, at one-ment with Him. In
Leviticus 16, the original Hebrew word used is ‘kipur’, meaning literally ‘to
cover’. In the context of Yom Kipur (the
Day of Atonement), concepts such as appeasement, cleansing, forgiving, being
merciful, pacify, pardon, purge, put off, and reconciliation all come into
focus, giving a beautiful overview of all that was in the Father’s heart when
he gave instructions for this event.
Most of the Hebrew calendar events God
instituted are known as Feasts, days of celebration, rest from work, and
definitely lots of food! Yom Kipur
however is different. It is not a feast
day but a fast day. Instead of celebration
and rest there is much repentance and soul searching as the individual seeks at
one-ment with God, forgiven, cleansed and reconciled.

For followers of Jesus today, the New
Testament letter to the Hebrews is a wonderful guide to explaining some of the
ceremonies of Yom Kipur as a pattern of the atoning, unifying work He carried
out on our behalf. Instead of a High
Priest, we have Yeshua, the Son of God.
Instead of the blood of animal sacrifices, we have the very blood of our
Messiah and Saviour. Instead of entering
the Tabernacle’s Holy of Holies to be in God’s presence, Yeshua entered God’s very
throne room, as Paul affirms in Romans, “Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the
right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Romans 8:34
The Day of
Atonement is a poignant time in God’s calendar.
Not only is it a wonderful opportunity to stop and take stock of our own
lives, bringing into the light things that we need forgiveness for and giving
pause for our hearts to come back into alignment and unity with the heart of
Jesus, but it is also one time of year when Jewish people world over pack into
their synagogues and prayer houses. In
the same way that many ‘secular Christian’s will pack into churches for Easter
and Christmas, Yom Kipur is the day that many secular Jewish people will attend
their synagogue services. Please pray
for them, that as they seek at one-ment with God, they will have a revelation
of Yeshua, their High Priest and
Messiah!